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About the book

Trapped in a Vice explores the consequences of a juvenile justice system that is aimed at promoting change in the lives of young people, yet ultimately relies upon tools and strategies that enmesh them in a system that they struggle to move beyond. The system, rather than the crimes themselves, is the vice. Trapped in a Vice explores the lives of the young people and adults in the criminal justice system, revealing the ways that they struggle to manage the expectations of that system; these stories from the ground level of the justice system demonstrate the complex exchange of policy and practice.

Advanced praise

"Cox provides important and compelling insights about young people involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems and about these systems themselves.Trapped in a Vice is a significant contribution to the field, filled with unique and comprehensive knowledge."--Jamie Fader, author of Falling Back: Incarceration and Transitions to Adulthood among Urban Youth

"Trapped in a Vice is an excellent piece of scholarship from start to finish. Cox weaves together stories, policy data, and literature in a seamless fashion to expose the paradox of 'ungovernable' children. This brilliant, well written work is guaranteed to become a landmark piece in the field."--Laura Abrams, author of Compassionate Confinement: A Year in the Life of Unit C

"Alexandra Cox's Trapped in a Vice will deepen the juvenile justice reform discussion. Fundamental to her work is an argument that is essential as it is true: reform must be broader than moving juveniles from adult prisons to juvenile prisons and rehabilitation efforts must have outcomes that extend beyond the walls of incarceration."--Reginald Dwayne Betts, author of A Question of Freedom and Bastards of the Reagan Era